Vive (fish) : The vives form a family of sea fish perciformes, the Trachinidae, which has nine species. The lively often lives buried in the sand. It is appreciated for the quality of its flesh, but feared for its poisonous thorns.
Description and characteristics of the vives: The vives have in common to have a poisonous backbone. Some have venomous prickly rays, which can injure. Those fish live under the surface of the sand, they can sting humans when this one walks on them. The sting usually causes severe pain that spreads to the bones.
They are found in the eastern Atlantic and from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. They are found near the coasts in summer and further offshore in winter. The most famous species on the French coast are:
- The large lively Trachinus draco (Linnaeus, 1758) (25 cm on average, but can measure up to 40 cm), with an elongated body with a brown back striped with blue and yellow sides, has a short head, with a wide mouth and big, close eyes.
- Vive spider, Trachinus araneus (Cuvier, 1829), sometimes reaches 50 cm.
- The little live, Echiichthys vipera (Cuvier, 1829), does not measure more than 20 cm. It hardly has any flavor.
Note that the uranoscope (Uranoscopus scaber) is a species of bony fish close to the live, living in the Mediterranean, without much culinary interest.
Quick bite: The venom is injected through the backbone and two opercular spines. Even dead, this fish remains dangerous. The pain is "sharp", very violent and instantaneous. It radiates to the root of the pricked member. It can lead to a real infection.
Culinary jobs of the lively : Cooks are advised to handle it with very thick gloves, or cut the 5 thorns with scissors. It is necessary to cut fins and quills before any preparation.
La vive has a chair farm et perfumed ; his netting are cooked like those of snapper silk. Whole and empty, it prepares itself like the red mullet ou grilled. In sections, she enters a sailor au White wine.
The vive is also one of the fish used for bouillabaisse, to chair is very maintenance, although hardening with age (especially for the large live).